Islamic gunmen push into Iraq's Sunni heartland

ASSOCIATED PRESS

June 12, 2014 12:01 AM

Militias of the al-Qaida breakaway group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) deploy in an area in Tikrit, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, June 11, 2014. Al-Qaida-inspired militants seized effective control Wednesday of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, expanding their offensive closer to the Iraqi capital as soldiers and security forces abandoned their posts following clashes with the insurgents. (AP Photo)AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

June 12, 2014 12:01 AM

EXITS BLOCKEDBEIRUT -- The al-Qaida breakaway group that seized much of Iraq's city of Mosul has encircled the city of Deir el-Zour across the border in Syria, activists said Wednesday. "They have surrounded the city. There are no entrances or exits left for people to flee," said a Syrian activist in the region who uses the name Salar. The city, which straddles the Euphrates in the northeastern corner of Syria, is one of the region's last strongholds of resistance to the Islamic State group.SOURCE: Associated Press

The advance into former insurgent strongholds that had largely been calm before the Americans withdrew less than three years ago is spreading fear that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, struggling to hold onto power after indecisive elections, will be unable to stop the Islamic militants as they press closer to Baghdad.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group took control Tuesday of much of Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, sending an estimated half a million people fleeing from their homes. As in Tikrit, the Sunni militants were able to move in after police and military forces melted away after relatively brief clashes.

The group, which has seized wide swaths of territory, aims to create an Islamic emirate spanning both sides of the Iraq-Syria border.

The White House said the security situation has deteriorated over the past 24 hours and that the United States was "deeply concerned" about ISIL's continued aggression.

EXITS BLOCKEDBEIRUT -- The al-Qaida breakaway group that seized much of Iraq's city of Mosul has encircled the city of Deir el-Zour across the border in Syria, activists said Wednesday. "They have surrounded the city. There are no entrances or exits left for people to flee," said a Syrian activist in the region who uses the name Salar. The city, which straddles the Euphrates in the northeastern corner of Syria, is one of the region's last strongholds of resistance to the Islamic State group.SOURCE: Associated Press